Katie Boulter turns singles woe into doubles pleasure as Great Britain guide Billie Jean King Cup finals spot with thrilling ultimate tie towards the Netherlands

From singles woe to doubles joy, Katie Boulter’s arc of redemption sent Great Britain into the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.

In a winner-take all tie against hosts Netherlands to decide this group stage, Sonay Kartal won the first rubber before Boulter was beaten in the second singles match.

Captain Anne Keothavong threw her No1 player straight back in for the deciding doubles and Boulter was irresistible alongside close friend Jodie Burrage in beating Dutch pair Suzan Lamens and Demi Schuurs 6-2, 6-2.

‘It was the energy,’ said Burrage when asked what had fuelled the victory. ‘The energy from this team, from the crowd, from my partner, from my captain.’ Party time? ‘Definitely a little party – a few bevvies!’

This group will head to Shenzhen in September as one of eight nations to contest the finals. After an almost 20 year absence from the latter stages of this competition, Britain has qualified for a third time in four years.

After the withdrawal of Emma Raducanu last week – citing a need for rest after a busy start to the season – this week was all about Keothavong’s team demonstrating a strength in depth with which they have rarely been associated.

Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage’s doubles partnership saw Great Britain through to the Billie Jean King Cup finals on Saturday

The close friends triumphed in a winner-takes-all straight-sets match against the Netherlands

The British No1 has seen her season disrupted by injury and had faltered in an earlier singles tie

‘Women’s tennis in Britain has come a long way,’ said Keothavong at the start of the week. ‘The flipside of that is a lot of sleepless nights and headaches for me in trying to make a decision.’

And the captain made a big call here, ditching the penciled-in pairing of Harriet Dart and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls to give Boulter a second chance, alongside Burrage.

The day began with another win for Kartal, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 against Eva Vedder. The 23-year-old has made light of Raducanu’s absence with two wins from two on debut.

Over to Boulter, whose lack of clay court nous was exposed in a 6-4, 6-3 defeat to world No70 Suzan Lemens.

As the decider arrived the auguries did not look great for GB, who have not won a live doubles rubber in this competition since 2022.

But Boulter justified her selection with surely the best doubles performance of her career. And how impressive to get straight back on court after her singles defeat – the tennis equivalent of taking a second penalty after missing the first.

There was a sense of atonement for Burrage too, whose only previous Billie Jean King Cup match was a ghastly defeat by Swedish No372 Kajsa Rinaldo Persson in 2023.

Burrage and Boulter were the underdogs on paper against a pair with home support and a win under their belts already this week against Germany.

Schuurs – a doubles specialist who has been as high as No7 in the world – showed off her classy net play but her serve is soft as candyfloss and the Brits pummelled it.

They also pummelled Schuurs herself – blasting the ball at her whenever she charged the net. One Burrage smash hit the 31-year-old on the full, square on the left buttock.

Sonay Kartal has also enjoyed a successful stint in the Netherlands, winning both her ties

‘We went out there and we swung, that’s what we wanted to do,’ said Burrage.

The surprisingly strong display is surely down to the presence in the Hague of LTA coach Louis Cayer – a sensei of the art of doubles.

The Canadian has transformed Britain into a men’s doubles powerhouse and Mail Sport understands he is set to take a greater hand in the women’s game, too.

That can only be good news for this impressive group of young women, led with such gentle assurance by Keothavong. With Raducanu to come back into the fold, they will head to Shezhen this autumn with justifiably high hopes.